Ink
by blAnk pAgE drEAm
Summary: oneshot Ulrich writes a letter to Yumi one year after her death. Very old, don't judge me by this please.


** Alrighty, this is my second story I'm going to be posting. It's a one-shot, and very depressing, I'm warning you. Still want to read? ... Whatever, it's your funeral. (-snickers- I have a really twisted sense of humor...)**

**Disclamer: Don't own Code Lyoko, except for in my dreams. But oh, what wonderful dreams they are...**

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**_Ink_**

_ "Ulrich, I can't breathe."_

_ "You'll be all right, Yumi."_

A lie. How I wish those words could have been true. I would do anything to change what happened.

It's me, Yumi. I'm sitting here next to your grave. The grave that should have been mine. Why did it have to be you?

_ "I don't want to die."_

I keep replaying those last minutes in my mind like a broken record. Your voice echoes through time, calling me, begging me to stay.

_ "Please don't go."_

_ "I would never. I'll be right here, Yumi. You'll be fine. I'll protect you."_

But I shouldn't have left you in the first place. Not when I knew that the building could collapse at any moment. Why did you have to go?

_ "Ulrich, I'm so cold."_

I could have saved you. I should have done something, anything.

One year has passed since you died. Since my life spiraled out of control.

_ "Don't go, Yumi."_

_ "Ulrich…"_

They said that the pain would lessen as time went on. But I still hurt as much as ever. Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd miss you… but they have moved on. I'm the only one stuck in the past.

_ "We need you, Yumi. Don't die, please…"_

The funeral was beautiful. Everywhere, there were white flowers and black clothing. The whole school attended. Sissi cried. And Jim went up to place a flower on your coffin. But the whole thing had very little to do with you… until Odd got up to speak. You should have heard him. He gave a fantastic speech that really captured who you were as a person. Odd had people almost laughing at your funeral as we remembered you. You'll notice that I say "almost". Everyone was too depressed to truly laugh. And when Odd stepped down, I saw him wipe a tear of sorrow away, something I've never seen him do before.

_ "We can't do this without you…"_

They buried you here, on the very earth on which I now sit. Sit mourning you as the rest of the city sleeps.

_ I'm running, returning to the school. That's where I left you to check that no one else was left inside the dangerous building. But that was before I knew that Jeremie couldn't take us back in time. Let her be okay, I'm thinking with every footfall as I race back. But the building has caved under the weight of the ice. And you aren't in the crowd of terrified students outside. "Yumi!" I shout, searching through the wreckage._

Somewhere, a clock strikes. Midnight.

_ There you are, lying crumpled beneath a fallen wall near the heart of the building. You raise your head as I get closer, and I notice a dark pool that spread around you. Your blood has stained the snow. "Ulrich, I can't breathe."_

_ I kneel down beside you. "You'll be okay, Yumi."_

Memories of you are flashing through my mind's eye like a film reel. I can hear you again; see you smiling at me… The midnight spell is upon me.

_ You try to move, but I stop you. You look up at me, as haze of pain over your beautiful brown eyes. And fear. "I don't want to die." I start to rise, to go and get help, knowing somewhere that there's nothing anyone can do now. You gently tug my arm. "Please don't go." I can see that you are trying to be brave, but a tear slips down your face._

_ I wrap my arms comfortingly around you. "I would never. I'll be right here, Yumi," I promise. "You'll be fine. I'll protect you."_

My breath makes a fog in front of my face. Every gasp of air a draw rips through my lungs like fire. I'm freezing.

_ "Ulrich, I'm so cold…"_

_ I hug you closer still, as if by doing so, I can transfer some of my life's warmth which is slowly slipping away from you. "Don't go, Yumi."_

_ "Ulrich…" Your voice trails away as your breathing becomes fast and shallow._

But wait, what's this? A warm breeze whips across the graveyard, heating me. Could it be that I've become so numb that I can no longer feel the cold?

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"We need you, Yumi. Don't die, please…" I close my eyes and bury my face in your hair, pleading with you to live, as if it will make any difference._

I can hear your voice clearly now. Am I going crazy? Could it really be you? It seems insane, but…

_ "We can't do this without you. __I__ can't do this without you." Hot tears are trickling down my face, disappearing into your raven hair. "Yumi, I… Yumi? Yumi!" For you suddenly have gone very still. And I can't hear your heart beat anymore._

No, I'm sure of it now. You're here with me. I can hear you calling my name through the darkness. The warm wind blows upon my face, caressing me as your fingers once might have. You're asking me to come with you on this, the midnight hour of the eve of your death. And I will come with you this time, and stay with you no matter what. Yumi, I love you…"

Jeremie's voice trailed away as he read the note aloud. "There's something else here, too." His voice shook as much as his quivering hands as he handed to note to his friends, so that they see for themselves.

Aelita managed a watery smile. Odd's eyes widened and he looked from the paper to Ulrich's frozen body. The last sentence was not written in the black in from Ulrich's ballpoint pen, but in blood red. And the handwriting was curled and slanting. Yumi's handwriting: _I love you too._

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**Well, I warned you. Now that you're finished, why not review it? poke poke**

**Or not. Whatever you decide. Anywho, I'm leaving now. Until next time,**

**R to the 3rd**


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